The Knicks, the New York Knicks, the professional basketball team from New York City, the Knicks, ore formally known as the New York Knickerbockers… are one win away from reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Being up 3-1 in a playoff series isn’t really something to celebrate, is it? Uh, yeah it is.
Knicks fandom, in my lifetime, has been a constant series of gut punches, butt punches, nut punches, really all kinds of punches. I was born eight years after their last championship, and I’ve seen two Finals appearances and more heartbreaks than I can count.
If you can’t enjoy going up 3-1 in a series, especially in a series that you weren’t favored to win, especially when you haven’t seen a series win in 10 years… what’s the goddamn point of being a fan? Tracy Morgan gets it, and so should you.
But about this 3-1 thing. The Knicks did lead the Celtics by that margin in that last series win, in 2013… after having led 3-0 and before leading 3-2.
Before that, do you know the last time the Knicks were in this solid control of a best-of-seven series? NINETEEN NINETY-NINE. But the Knicks swept the Hawks in that series, so technically they weren’t up 3-1.
The last time the Knicks went from up 2-1 to up 3-1 in a series, to get the feeling that they have leading into Game 5 in Cleveland — a chance to close out and momentum — was the second round in 1997 against the Heat. The Knicks lost the series.
When’s the last time the Knicks won a Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead, and then went on to win the series? The second round of the 1993 playoffs against the Charlotte Hornets.
Before that? 1973. Did it three times, in fact. Beat the Bullets in five, the Celtics in seven, and the Lakers in five.
So, yeah, New York is pretty fired up about being up 3-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. We don’t get to experience this much, and when it does, we’re gonna enjoy it.
We Can Pod It Out 96: With A Little Help From My Friends